The Devil’s Advocate series[3] began in early 2007 when I thought it would be fun to take the opposite side of common personal finance advice. I would play Devil’s Advocate for what society considers “bad financial behavior.” Why you shouldn’t take your employer’s 401k match, why you shouldn’t have an emergency fund, or why you shouldn’t save for retirement. They won’t be humorous or sarcastic, they’ll be legitimate posts where I argue the other side, the side that never gets much exposure in the personal finance blogosphere (or mainstream media).

Why play the Devil’s Advocate?

When everyone recommends one thing (and we all recommend things like ‘get that 401(k) company match’), it’s too easy to just do it without considering the other side. With a lot of personal finance issues, the other side really doesn’t have much weight (at least not enough to make the decision at least marginally difficult) and so you don’t hear about it. These Devil’s Advocate posts will fill that void.

To see all the Devil’s Advocate posts I’ve written so far, click here[3].